Thursday, March 10, 2005

BC Liberals get campaign donation ahead of time

The BC big media choose not to cover a story that had the Liberals in trouble. The NDP raised concerns March 8 during Question Period with respect to the Premier's failure to reply to a letter he received last fall from three emminent child advocates.

The advocates were very concerned with the lack of public accountability. The Canwest papers did not print the story in Vancouver area papers March 9. Was this an effort to cover Gordon Campbell's backside heading into an election? My guess it was. Not only does the publisher (Canwest) of the Vancouver Sun, The Province and the National Post donate real money to Gordon Campbell, they also make inkind donations. Sometimes it is more valuable in what you don't do than what you do.

The other large national daily, the Globe and Mail also failed to run the story. Seems the big media though in competition for advertisers can agree on one thing, Gordon Campbell. The Straight had this to say today,

Editions of Greater Vancouver’s four daily papers didn’t report on March 9 that Premier Gordon Campbell had not responded to a letter last year from three former senior child advocates. On March 8, B.C.’s former children’s commissioner Cynthia Morton, former B.C. ombudsman Dulcie McCallum, and Joyce Preston, B.C.’s former advocate for children, youth, and families, released a letter they wrote to the premier last June expressing concerns about the lack of public accountability. The premier’s office never responded, even though their letter was hand? delivered and requested a meeting.

During question period in the legislature on March 8, all three NDP MLAs interrogated B.C. Liberal cabinet ministers on the topic. At one point, NDP MLA Jenny Kwan said, “These advocates write and I quote: ‘How will government report publicly on maintaining if not enhancing the health and safety to children while the budget has reduced its services to children and families? We have examined service outcomes of the ministry and are unable to see transparent measures to address these matters. This is inconsistent with the commitment that the Premier has made publicly to hold all ministries to account for quality outcomes.’?”

On March 8, reporter Dirk Meissner wrote a story on this issue for Canadian Press. It appeared on the CanWest Global Communications Corp. Web site [www.canada.com/] but not in many Vancouver-area editions of the company-owned Vancouver Sun, Province, and National Post, or in the Globe and Mail, which is owned by Bell Globemedia